Ninja Bait
by TinySprite
Summary: Sigma 6 'verse. Hi-Tech finds out that some things just seem to attract ninjas.


TinySprite: (waves at the screen) Hey there! I'm back!

Tunnel Rat: Oh, we were in no hurry for you to return.

Tiny: (ignores him) I am working on updates, it's just a slow process. Of course, the plot bunnies don't help by piling up and all that and this one decided to chew on my ear until I typed it up...*rubs ear*

Jynx and Kamakura: (play a brief game of rock, paper, scissors, Kamakura loses)

Kamakura: (sighs) I've got the disclaimer.

**Disclaimer:** TinySprite owns nothing of GI Joe outside of fan available items and this crazy plot...kinda.

Jynx: That was kinda...short...

Tiny: This was inspired by a twitter conversation some time back. The plot bunny was just that lazy, now on with the fic!

(-)

Hi-Tech stretched his arms and stifled a yawn as he entered his rarely used personal room. He just felt so much more comfortable in his lab that it had essentially become his room from all the hours of work he did in there. Yet here he was, in the room he'd actually been assigned, annoyed and twitching without something productive to do. It was a self-imposed break, mainly to avoid Duke carrying out his threat to have the computer expert dragged kicking and screaming out of his lab. He scratched at the back of his neck, annoyed at remembering that talk, mentally grumbling to himself, 'Geeze, pull three all-nighters in a row and they all think you've gone crazy!'

Glancing around the area, the blond noted he needed to clean up and do laundry. Dust was everywhere and his dirty clothes were just about overflowing, not to mention all the junk he'd let pile up on just about any and all available surfaces. Well...it'd keep him distracted at least, probably even make him tired enough to take a nap afterwards. With a sigh, he changed out of his sigma suit and proceeded to do the needed chores.

About five hours, two bouts of screaming, several shouted variations of 'Kill it with fire!', some impromptu weapons practice, a favor filled in from Tunnel Rat and a vow to never let his personal room get like this again, Hi-Tech could finally see the floor. Now all he had to do was clear off the bed, desk and make sure the closet was in order.

The bed was easy. All it had were more clothes, a couple of spare blankets and some odd number of small tools and spare parts he'd thought lost. Once cleared off and made, it actually looked presentable. The closet...required another favor from Tunnel Rat. Hi-Tech had honestly had no idea spider webs could get so huge or so thick or that so many of the eight-legged demons could congregate in one area.

Once that was out of the way and Hi-Tech could safely venture inside, the blond located two spare pairs of boots, some construction plans he'd actually forgotten about and a box full of dvds he'd meant to get around to watching but never had. Shoving those aside, there was another box full of comics the computer expert thought he'd left back home.

Gleeful about that discovery, Hi-Tech made a note to go through them later during another break. Turning to his desk, the geek sent a brief prayer to the internet gods before plunging in. Another hour later, he was in a much better mood than before. His desk had only been piled high with several stacks of notes and construction plans he'd set aside for a rainy day. Easy enough to sort and file away in his newly unearthed filing cabinet.

It was what had been buried within that paper tomb that had him so happy. Sleeping on an actual bed instead of his computer chair or whatever work surface he was using at the moment only further improved his mood. Returning to work the next morning, well...more like the next afternoon seeing how he'd slept in, Hi-Tech genuinely felt like nothing could keep him down.

Shortly after reaching his lab, Scarlett came in to inform him of what he'd missed while sleeping. Towards the end of her brief explanation, her eyes landed on his prize find, and she stopped to stare at them, "Uh...Hi-Tech, are those what I think they are?"

He nodded, smiling, "Yep! I found them while cleaning my desk. Thought I'd lost them forever..."

The items in question were two golden pens, standing out sharply next against the metallic gray of his work desk. The redhead looked confused, "Where did they come from?"

Hi-Tech happily told her, "Gift from when I graduated college. Made cleaning my room worth it."

She blinked at him, looking around the somewhat messy lab. He quickly clarified, "My personal room. Let me just say, I'm on a first name basis with most of the cleaning staff now."

Scarlett nodded, "You're going to want to keep an eye on those pens."

The blond nodded back, "Oh trust me, I am! I do NOT want to lose these again!"

The redhead looked skeptical about that but didn't offer anything further as she excused herself to leave. Not giving it a second thought, Hi-Tech directed his attention back to the work he needed to get done today. About an hour later, he reached for one of the pens to jot a couple quick notes down on some nearby scrap paper.

Despite only needing one, he still glanced over when his fingers landed on one out of habit. Good thing he did too, as only one pen, the one he'd grabbed, was there. Swearing, he let go of the pen and twisted in his chair to look beneath his desk. Not seeing it, he sat back up to glance at the surface of his desk only to swear again at seeing the other pen was also now missing.

Reaching around his desk, he pulled up various papers he had laying around in an attempt to find them. Not finding them there, Hi-Tech got out of his chair to check more thoroughly under his desk, even going as far as practically crawling behind it to make sure they hadn't somehow rolled back there.

Giving up on that, the blond got back up, swearing repeatedly only to stop and stare at the gold pen lying innocently on its previous spot on the desk. Frowning sharply, he first jabbed it with his finger to ensure it was in fact real before snatching it up. Keeping a hold on it, he restarted his search for its twin, grumbling under his breath. He eventually found it under a couple sheets of paper, glaring at it before grabbing it as well.

After writing down his previously ignored notes, Hi-Tech placed the pens on a closer spot, just at the edge of his vision. However, he soon became engrossed in his work, only stopping when his stomach growled for dinner. Sitting back in his chair, the young man reached up to rub his neck and shifted around in his chair.

While doing so, he noticed the pens were both gone, again. Jumping up with a snarl, Hi-Tech yet again searched his desk and the surrounding area, irritated at having lost the pens again. Despite not finding the wanted items, he did find a toy rubber ducky. Wondering just where it had come from, the computer expert shrugged and tossed it over his shoulder, only for it to squeak too soon as it hit something.

Twisting around to look, he caught sight of movement in the shadows of his lab's large cabinets, as if something was trying to hide there. Feeling one of his eyebrows twitch, Hi-Tech knew at once who the culprits were, snarling out, "Jynx, Kamakura! Give back those pens right now or so help me, I'll tell everyone who put the laxatives in the coffee last week!"

That worked, drawing Kamakura out quickly, "Okay, okay! I'll give it back, just please don't tell Sensei!"

Snatching the pen back from him, Hi-Tech snorted, "Oh, he probably already knows. It's the others you'd have to worry about. Now, where's Jynx?"

The male apprentice stayed quiet, not about to give up his partner in crime/training. The blond sighed sharply, having wanted to reveal this bit of blackmail later, "I guess Scarlett's about to find out just what exactly happened to that silk top she thought she lost last month."

A rough jab in his shoulder revealed a scowling Jynx behind him, holding the other pen out, "You wouldn't dare!"

The geek narrowed his eyes at her as he took back the item, "Do this again and I will!"

She huffed at him, stepping around him to leave his lab as if insulted, Kamakura trailing after her quietly. Hi-Tech didn't bother to stop them, but instead turned back to his desk to place his pens in a more secure spot. Just as he was dropping them in a drawer, a squeak got his attention back to the rubber duck.

Oddly, it was in a different position, as if someone had picked it up and thrown it again. Frowning, he ignored it for now, glancing down in the drawer to make sure the pens were in an easy to reach place only to find they were gone. Knowing the apprentices hadn't been gone long enough to pull this off, Hi-Tech let out a frustrated yell, "Snake Eyes!"

Outside in the hall, Scarlett stopped herself from knocking on the lab door, sighing. Giving her head a light shake, she muttered, "I tried to warn him...those pens are ninja bait..."

(-)

Tiny: And there you have it! A nice little one-shot! For any who are curious, yes, twitter is now basically a plot bunny breeding ground.

Snake Eyes: (holds up a sign) I can fix that. Kamakura needs target practice.


End file.
